Publications

World Process Refugees

Open Forum
Zurich, House of the People, June 2016

Article by Martin Frischknecht on the Open Forum, June 2016, Zurich, facilitated by Elke Schlehuber and Reini Hauser.
Magazine SPUREN, Fall 2016 (in German)

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Artikel Worldwork, Konfliktarbeit und Spiritualität.

In: Bewusstseinswissenschaften.

Transpersonale Psychologie und Psychotherapie, Themenschwerpunt: Konflikt und Frieden, 2/2015, S. 42-56

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Worldwork-eine zukunftsorientierte Methode in der Arbeit mit Spannungen

TAU – Magazin für Barfusspolitik, 2014, Kulturen des Miteinanders

Der Artikel zeigt einen Ausschnitt eines Gruppenprozesses zum Ukraine-Konflikt (2014) mit einer Ausbildungsgruppe in St. Petersburg, Russland. Einige grundlegende Konzepte und Eigenschaften der prozessorientierten Arbeit mit Gruppenspannungen und Konflikten werden vorgestellt: Polarisierung zwischen verschiedenen Positionen um ein Thema, Rollen und Geistrollen, heisse Stellen und temporäre (gefühlte) Entspannung im Feld. Die Rolle der Facilitation und unsere Gefühlshaltung im Umgang mit Konflikten und Konfliktarbeit wird reflektiert.

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Heroin Addiction and Altered States. Can a single process-oriented intervention help?

Journal for Process oriented Psychology 2004, Vol 9, 1, pp. 36 - 50. Lao Tse Press, Portland, OR, USA

Processwork understands addiction as goal-oriented behavior, which seeks states of consciousness that are missing from the addict’s everyday life. This pilot study investigates the effectiveness of a process-oriented intervention, in terms of its ability to help opiate-dependent people establish and maintain longed-for states of consciousness.

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Two sessions with 13 opiate-dependent persons are compared: a verbal-exploratory session and an intervention session. The effects are assessed on the Sense of Coherence Scale (SOC-13, Antonovsky 1979, 1987), in addition to the Experiencing Scale (EXP, Klein et al 1969). The results demonstrate highly significant improvements toward the health end of the health/illness continuum, as well as greater involvement in the therapeutic process and increased levels of self-awareness. In literature, these measures correlate with better health and more successful therapeutic outcomes.

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Altered States of Consciousness as Adjunct in the Treatment of Addiction.

Effectiveness of a single process-oriented intervention - an empirical study with 13 heroin dependent persons. Comenius University, Bratislava, 2001 (unpublished doctoral dissertation)

One of the central tenets holds that an addiction may be a potentially purposeful behavior, a search for experiences which are missing in an addicts everyday life. The study researches a process- intervention: to re-access the state the addict yearns for. The intervention facilitates re-experiencing the "high" without drugs, with a sober attitude, and deepens the experience in an interactional process through body awareness, movement and relationship work until some deeply felt personal meanings emerge. The idea is that the altered state carries a message which wants to be lived and integrated into the person's everyday life. The goal in the treatment is an expansion of awareness and a reorientation toward what has been neglected and, thus, toward wholeness.

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In an AB design, an initial baseline session was compared to an intervention session (accessing the state) with 13 heroin dependent persons. On the SOC-13, a measure of health (Antonovsky 1987), the empirical results demonstrated effectiveness of the intervention with a significant increase from t1 to t2. On the Experiencing scale (Klein et al 1969), which is based on ratings of session transcripts and video tapes by trained raters, the increases were highly significant, too. Research subjects demonstrated greater involvement in their experience, a measure related to improved outcome.

The qualitative results illustrate a general tendency toward some core experiential states revolving around self-love, intimacy in relationship as well as expressing some significant social or spiritual messages. In all cases, aggression in the form of a harsh inner critic, was found as a threat in the background pointing to the need for more conscious contact with and integration of that power.

The results demonstrated very significant in-session client progress on a measure of health and improved contact with one's self through accessing and unfolding the altered state the person yearns for. The study demonstrated significant improvement in one intervention session. Last but not least, accessing the drug state in a sober manner is but one intervention and other ingredients are necessary in successful addiction treatment. While all of the current treatment modalities are needed, certainly also risk reduction and substitution programs, it seems crucial to create innovative alternative methods, especially such that use altered states in the treatment of the addictions.

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Altered States of Consciousness as a Complement in the Treatment of Addiction - a process-oriented approach

Alkoholizmus a Drogove zavislosti, 35, 3, 2000. Ministry of Health, Bratislava, Slovakia

The article introduces the process-oriented perspective to working with addictions and gives an example of a session with a heroin addict in recovery. It proposes that standard addiction treatment measures need to be complemented by experientially exploring the addict's urge for altered states. It illustrates process-oriented interventions to access specific experiences the addict yearns for to discover its meaning and purposefulness relative to the person’s usual waking state.

Keywords

Process-oriented psychology, addiction, altered states of consciousness, therapeutic use of altered states, in-session significant moments, spirituality

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Dual Awareness - Elements of Shamanism in Process Work

(unpublished manuscript, 1996)

Process Work combines perspectives and tools from psychotherapy and shamanism to create a powerful new synthesis for working with people. Observational accuracy and precision of psychology, communication and system theory and the shaman’s use of altered states of consciousness contribute to a new awareness, which furthers individual and community transformation and healing. Excerpts from a session led by Arnold Mindell highlight the interactions between psychotherapeutic and shamanic elements and demonstrate its practical application.

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„Man kann meist viel mehr tun, als man sich gemeinhin zutraut.“

Aenne Burda

Jung, Taoism, the Sound of a Saxophone and I

Diploma thesis, Research Society for Process-oriented Psychology, Zürich, 1990, rev. 1996
60 pages, incl. the article in JPOP, Potland, OR, USA, 1995-1996 http://www.iapop.com/dissertations/

Journal of Process-Oriented Psychology, Portland, Oregon, 1995-96 Vol 7, Nr 2

This article explores the foundation of Processwork and applies it to a piece of personal work. It shows how Processwork, with roots in Jungian psychology and philosophical Taoism, can guide us toward our psychological and spiritual development. In a deeply democratic manner, it teaches to welcome and invite all of our disavowed parts into awareness, thus contributing to a rising psycho-ecological awareness which makes the relationship to ourselves, others and the world more sustainable.

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A message in the bottle. Process Work with Addictions

Journal for Process-oriented Psychology, Portland, OR, Lao-Tse Press Winter 94-95, Vol 6, Nr 2

This article explores the connections between spirituality and addiction from a process-oriented viewpoint and presents methods applied to working with substance abuse, both from an individual and a system perspective. Case examples demonstrate how process-oriented interventions can be used successfully in the work with addicts and their families to enhance treatment effectiveness.

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Schamanismus und Individuation (1987)

Bespricht ‘Schamanismus' aus wissenschaftlichen Sicht (Eliade u.a.), den Schamanen als 'Techniker der Ekstase’, und vergleicht diese/n mit der PsychotherapeutIn. Der Autor beschreibt Schamanismus als Paradigma für den Individuationsprozess (nach CG Jung). Das Material ist angereichert durch persönliche Beobachtungen mit traditionellen Heilern als auch mit kurzen Ausschnitten aus therapeutischen Prozessen in der Arbeit mit (Kindheits-)Träumen. Prozessarbeit als Modalität wird vorgestellt.

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